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Armageddon waves were amaaaazing, but...

Hey all-

I tried attaching some photos my cousin snapped with his iPhone before we paddled out at Long Branch. The waves were definitely amazing and we were all going nuts. While I loved being out in the water again (been a month or two!), I had one of 'those' sessions and was pretty frustrated. Frustrated enough that I created an account and can hopefully get some insight.

This might have been the first session ever that I literally didn't get a legit wave. Being out of the water for awhile made me rusty and shoulders def felt out of shape, but I am curious to see if any others had a similar experience or if I could get some tips.

I felt that I couldn't "plane" into the wave no matter how much I pressed forward or how hard I paddled.. then I'd try to get it later to help and I would end up getting dumped. My shoulders were pretty shot in the thick rubber, but I have surfed 10 hours in a single day and was still able to catch overhead+ waves with proper positioning and a quick burst. I am questioning if the board I got is too skinny now (or maybe just during the winter when I'm heavier with the wetsuit?).

I currently have a chemistry dagger with dimensions 6'1" 18 5/8" 2 3/8" (I weigh about 160). My brother and cousin seemed to be able to get into the waves early even though their boards were slightly shorter. I am thinking the added width helped them plane into it. I knew when I got the board 18 5/8" was pushing it and the description said it was for lightweight surfers, but I figured the added maneuverability would be nice. Now I am starting to think I should trade with someone for a board thats 19-19.5".

Here's a video my friend made for me when I first got this board. It seemed to work for me, but I suppose that's just because the waves were smaller? My surfing is kind of piss poor in the video and it was only a single day, but if any experienced surfers could give any advice on what I could work on that would be awesome. I need to get my surfing more 'up and down'. I'm the guy in the beginning of the vid with long hair. Youtube kind of f ucked up the video and warped it at certain parts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUaA04Q9a9E

I know I didnt have a lot of long rides but perhaps you guys can tell how the board works for me getting into waves. Any help/advice is greatly appreciated. Merry Christmas to all of you guys! Hopefully this thursday stays good and I can redeem myself hah!

Nice to know I'm not the only one!! :)

I've been out 5 x's since Sandy hit and three of those sessions I came up empty. It's a whole different world out there now..."improvise, adapt, overcome!"

Originally Posted by desinaner

Hey all-

I tried attaching some photos my cousin snapped with his iPhone before we paddled out at Long Branch. The waves were definitely amazing and we were all going nuts. While I loved being out in the water again (been a month or two!), I had one of 'those' sessions and was pretty frustrated. Frustrated enough that I created an account and can hopefully get some insight.

This might have been the first session ever that I literally didn't get a legit wave. Being out of the water for awhile made me rusty and shoulders def felt out of shape, but I am curious to see if any others had a similar experience or if I could get some tips.

I felt that I couldn't "plane" into the wave no matter how much I pressed forward or how hard I paddled.. then I'd try to get it later to help and I would end up getting dumped. My shoulders were pretty shot in the thick rubber, but I have surfed 10 hours in a single day and was still able to catch overhead+ waves with proper positioning and a quick burst. I am questioning if the board I got is too skinny now (or maybe just during the winter when I'm heavier with the wetsuit?).

I currently have a chemistry dagger with dimensions 6'1" 18 5/8" 2 3/8" (I weigh about 160). My brother and cousin seemed to be able to get into the waves early even though their boards were slightly shorter. I am thinking the added width helped them plane into it. I knew when I got the board 18 5/8" was pushing it and the description said it was for lightweight surfers, but I figured the added maneuverability would be nice. Now I am starting to think I should trade with someone for a board thats 19-19.5".

Here's a video my friend made for me when I first got this board. It seemed to work for me, but I suppose that's just because the waves were smaller? My surfing is kind of piss poor in the video and it was only a single day, but if any experienced surfers could give any advice on what I could work on that would be awesome. I need to get my surfing more 'up and down'. I'm the guy in the beginning of the vid with long hair. Youtube kind of f ucked up the video and warped it at certain parts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUaA04Q9a9E

I know I didnt have a lot of long rides but perhaps you guys can tell how the board works for me getting into waves. Any help/advice is greatly appreciated. Merry Christmas to all of you guys! Hopefully this thursday stays good and I can redeem myself hah!

boards aren't always the problem. where i was at VB on friday, the winds were about 20-30 knots offshore which definitely made it harder to get into waves. i've also been up at college so my shoulders were feeling pretty tight as well. however, i was able to get into some good waves because i've been training up at school by running and swimming. paddle power is key when the winds are blowing hard offshore. the best way to get better in the water is to train out of the water!

OP, you've got trimming down pretty well but I think you're looking to carve more right? Someone posted a website a while ago that had a bunch of surf school videos to browse through. They cover trimming vs carving pretty well. The main thing I see from your video that would help you surf more vertically is your weight transfer. You're heavy on the front which is fast and straight aka trimming. You need to shift your weight to you back foot and let the fins power you through your turn. Try reaching for your right heel (I think you're regular right, if not your back heel) with your left/front hand. This way you have to bring the weight away from your front foot towards your back foot and you use the power in your hips in the turn. It's fun getting over plateaus, keep progressing.

I think if you laid down more on the board and placed you hands closer in and father reaching when you paddle you would paddle a lot faster. it looks like you take short strokes and don't pull the water with your hands enough. (from a swimmers pov) but i mean the way u paddle now should get the job done.

I doubt it was an equipment issue, that day was a tough go. You had a strong sweep going out and very strong offshores. Its not easy to paddle into a rare NJ 7-10 ft wave in the first place, even without the winds and the sweep, let alone with long period groundswell, so that day your timing was likely out of whack, and by the time you did establish into a rythm due to the cold and the extra rubber you were probably pretty smoked by then.

I've been out 5 x's since Sandy hit and three of those sessions I came up empty. It's a whole different world out there now..."improvise, adapt, overcome!"

Thanks for the encouragement.

Originally Posted by vbhasnowaves

boards aren't always the problem. where i was at VB on friday, the winds were about 20-30 knots offshore which definitely made it harder to get into waves. i've also been up at college so my shoulders were feeling pretty tight as well. however, i was able to get into some good waves because i've been training up at school by running and swimming. paddle power is key when the winds are blowing hard offshore. the best way to get better in the water is to train out of the water!

Yea.. I could tell the waves were 'carrying' as they walled up thanks to the wind, and then they dumped fast. I felt the window I had to catch the wave in was small, but I still should have had more waves.

Originally Posted by ClemsonSurf

OP, you've got trimming down pretty well but I think you're looking to carve more right? Someone posted a website a while ago that had a bunch of surf school videos to browse through. They cover trimming vs carving pretty well. The main thing I see from your video that would help you surf more vertically is your weight transfer. You're heavy on the front which is fast and straight aka trimming. You need to shift your weight to you back foot and let the fins power you through your turn. Try reaching for your right heel (I think you're regular right, if not your back heel) with your left/front hand. This way you have to bring the weight away from your front foot towards your back foot and you use the power in your hips in the turn. It's fun getting over plateaus, keep progressing.

As far as videos/guides on the internet, I've seen just about everything you can hah. trimming vs carving- sounds like you are referring to the surfsimply podcasts. Yea, I am definitely looking to carve more and lean deeper into turns. You would say I am only trimming in the video though? I'm surprised you think I am heavy on the front foot.. a lot of people tell me I am heavy on the back foot which might be why I shed speed sometimes. Nice tip on the front hand to back heel, I will keep that in mind. Usually I think of just opening my shoulders and looking where I want to go. Hopefully I can take my surfing to the next level soon!

Originally Posted by In the Soup

I think if you laid down more on the board and placed you hands closer in and father reaching when you paddle you would paddle a lot faster. it looks like you take short strokes and don't pull the water with your hands enough. (from a swimmers pov) but i mean the way u paddle now should get the job done.

Thanks for the tip. I swim in college myself but I will keep that in mind. As far as laying down more, I inch up as far as I possibly can JUST before I'm too far forward.

Originally Posted by dave

I doubt it was an equipment issue, that day was a tough go. You had a strong sweep going out and very strong offshores. Its not easy to paddle into a rare NJ 7-10 ft wave in the first place, even without the winds and the sweep, let alone with long period groundswell, so that day your timing was likely out of whack, and by the time you did establish into a rythm due to the cold and the extra rubber you were probably pretty smoked by then.

Thanks man.. made me feel a little better since I am always hard on myself (especially my surfing). Good to remember that this shi t isn't easy! I always surf to exhaustion, but that day was different haha. I try to surf in sessions like you're 'supposed to' but I have a bit of a drive to the ocean so when I go it's always for hours on end. I am just so upset that the waves were firing that good and I didn't capitalize. This thursday is looking good though so I will have to redeem myself. I'll make sure not to think of my board as an excuse. I still think I want to go wider though! Anybody have any input on that?

Originally Posted by Drinkupdog

Best advice I received that I took into a big heavy west wind swell was. Paddle down the face.

Make sure you paddle your ass off hard down the face, then dig your edge and get a good bottom turn and try to disappear in the barrel.

Too windy and too fast to try to set yourself up on an angle

Thanks so much. Awesome advice. I saw on another thread about steep drops people were discussing paddling straight down vs. at an angle, but the way you put it makes complete sense. In fact, I recall a couple waves where I tried to grab the rail and start going along the face and my fins either kicked out or I toppled over. I will definitely keep this in mind.

can't offer much help for you on your surfing, but could the video have looked weird because you turned on image stabilization? Thanks for sharing though, was helpful for me to watch and read the feedback from others.

The surf simply videos get mentioned a lot... but here are some other training vids that don't get mentioned as much and are still be updated:

I doubt it was an equipment issue, that day was a tough go. You had a strong sweep going out and very strong offshores. Its not easy to paddle into a rare NJ 7-10 ft wave in the first place, even without the winds and the sweep, let alone with long period groundswell, so that day your timing was likely out of whack, and by the time you did establish into a rythm due to the cold and the extra rubber you were probably pretty smoked by then.

i'd agree with this. i used to surf that same spot, honestly when it gets big that place dumps. i've been out there plenty of times where i would only catch one wave and i thought it was just me but the other guys out there were all having the same problem. definitely frustrating but it's only one session, makes you wanna get out again and get some more the next session.